EdTech 10: News From “The Space”

Whether you’re focused on policy or parenting, a teacher or a student, thinking kindergarten or college, the innovations in learning just keep coming–it’s getting easier to learn anything anywhere. Here are the top ten EdTech stories of the week.

4. This May Require a Field Trip.Media Company, Bertelsmann (@Bertelsmann_com) and Brazilian investment company Bozano Investimentos have partnered to launch a new $40 million fund for investing in innovative Brazilian EdTech.

5. Job Passport. As learning options expand, transcripts and credentials grow in importance. This week, transcript management service Parchment (@parchment) announced $10 million of expansion funding. In related news, we’re getting ready to share a paper on next-gen guidance systems for K-12 students and a paper on competency-based teacher prep.

The Big “D”

8. Sailing the Data Ocean. A new report released from Pearson (@Pearson), Impacts of the Digital Ocean in Education, highlights the challenges and the possibilities that technology affords in gathering good data and transforming it into usable information to help teachers reach students. Authors, Pearson’s Vice President of Learning Analytics Dr. John Behrens and Senior Research Scientist Dr. Kristen DiCerbo detail how data, social technology and gaming will all be at the forefront of education in the future.

9. Awarding Data Success. The Data Quality Campaign (@EdDataCampaign) awarded state and local leaders who have focused on using education data to support families and educators who are working to improve student achievement. Delaware Governor, Jack Markell (@GovernorMarkel) and the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation in Indiana have both received recognition for outstanding commitment to create communities and a culture that effectively use data.

Movers, Shakers & Ground-breakers

10. Florida Made the Honor Roll.Digital Learning Now (@DigLearningNow) released state report cards last week and Florida joins Utah as an A rating for their education policy. Learn More Go Further was created to share lessons from Florida and support high common college and career ready standards.